Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $161.90 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,045,163 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244,520 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $161,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $258,267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

MRK stock opened at $89.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.